Things To Do In Bologna

1 km
from city center 1 out of 26
Things To Do in Bologna

This unique, old and interesting church is definitely a must see right in the centre of Bologna

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from city center 2 out of 26
Things To Do in Bologna

The central square in Bologna, which comes alive both at night and day, and is a great way to spend some time walking aorund.

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from city center 3 out of 26
Things To Do in Bologna

2 tall buildings from which the views of the entore city are spectacular

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from city center 4 out of 26
Things To Do in Bologna

The archeological musuem in Bologna is a great palce to visit if youÍre a musuem buff.

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from city center 5 out of 26
Things To Do in Bologna

A visit to Bologna is incomplete without enjoying a food tour experience. This city is also known as Fat City due to its rich, delectable Italian cuisine. A food tour allows you to taste the best of multiple restaurants. Food tours also offer nuggets of history, development of culinary style and other interesting tidbits. The pasta, pizzas, meat dishes, gelato and other Italian delicacies here are unique to the city and much different than in any other part of the world. You will also get to taste some fine Italian wine and other beverages.

4 km
from city center 6 out of 26
Things To Do in Bologna

The Santuario di Madonna di San Luca is a sanctuary and basilica situated on top of a hill in Bologna. This imposing building becomes visible as soon as you enter the city. The church has a simple but unique curved structure. The inside is decorated with frescoes by Vittorio Bigari. Paintings by Bologna’s famous Guido Reni and other artists like Donato Creti and Giuseppe Mazza can be seen inside. The observation deck at the top offers a splendid panoramic view of the city.

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from city center 7 out of 26
Things To Do in Bologna

A portico is like a walkway with a roof-like structure outside a building and is centred at the building's entrance. The city of Bologna is known for its porticos, which have been declared "World Heritage Sites" by UNESCO. They stretch a total distance of 62km, with 40km in the city's historic centre.

0 km
from city center 8 out of 26
Things To Do in Bologna

The Hidden or Secret Canals of Bologna Is an ancient system of canals that existed centuries ago in the city. They are now hidden by the city infrastructure which has been built over them. On the Via Piella, peer into a tiny window to get a look at the hidden canal, a remnant of the old canal system. This canal, called Canale di Reno, runs at right angles and underneath the Via Malcontenti, Via Piella and Via Oberdan. The area is called ‘Little Venice’; the entire canal structure was similar to what Venice has today.

1 km
from city center 9 out of 26
Things To Do in Bologna

The Giardini Margherita is one of the most extensive city parks in Bologna. These green landscapes cover an area of 26 hectares with lush tree-lined avenues, ponds, kiosks, cafes, a wifi connection, and a basketball court. There’s also a vegan restaurant (Vetro) in the park. This is a perfect spot to set up a picnic, kick back and relax. On the park’s south side is the Savena canal, a part of the city’s waterways centuries ago. The Villanovan hut here is a full-size facsimile of houses built by ancient Etruscans. The park gets a little busy in the daytime and evening when the children come to play.

0 km
from city center 10 out of 26
Things To Do in Bologna

e Museum of San Colombano is a church museum in Bologna. It houses the exquisite Tagliavini Collection of Musical Instruments, which consists of over 80 instruments such as clavichords, spinets, oboes, etc. In addition, there is a music library here which belonged to the musicologist Oscar Mischiati. The Oratory of San Colombano is adorned with patterns of 17th-century frescoes designed by artists like Ludovico Carracci, Guido Reni, Francesco Albani, and Domenichino.

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from city center 11 out of 26
Things To Do in Bologna

The Palazzo Pepoli Vecchio is home to the Historical Museum of Bologna. This museum of Bolognese history is sectioned into different phases, from the Etruscan Felsina to the present Bologna. In addition, there is a beautiful blue wireframed room with a computer-simulated river which reacts to you walking on it, giving history a 21st-century spin.

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from city center 12 out of 26
Things To Do in Bologna

The Basilica di San Petronio is the largest church in Piazza Maggiore, located in Piazza Maggiore. Positioned here is the longest sundial in the world, uniquely accurate and precise. In the Chapel of the Three Wise Men is Giovanni da Modena’s fresco depicting phases of St. Petronio’s life. However, it is considered a work of blasphemy by the Islamic World as the figure of Muhammed appears in hell in this depiction.

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from city center 13 out of 26
Things To Do in Bologna

The Quadrilatero is an old market area that has the best street food in Italy with Bolognese delicacies like tortellini, Tagliatelle al Ragù, Green Lasagna and fresh loaves of bread. You will also find fish mongers, cheese stalls and meat shops with fresh local meat. In addition, you can enjoy an Aperitivo coupled with a fine Mortadella dish at one of the wine bars here.

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from city center 14 out of 26
Things To Do in Bologna

The Palazzo Fava is a palace museum located on the Via Manzoni in Bologna. This mansion regularly hosts temporary art exhibits such as Girl with a Pearl Earring (La Ragazza con l’orecchino di Perla) and From Cimabue to Morandi-Felsina Painter (Da Cimabue a Morandi-Felsina Pittrice). The Sala di Giasone fresco is another popular feature of the palace.

1 km
from city center 15 out of 26
Things To Do in Bologna

The National Art Gallery, or the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna, is located in what was formerly the Jesuit novitiate of Sant'Ignazio. An excellent place for art lovers, the Gallery owns numerous paintings by Emilian and other non-Bolognese artists from the 13th to the 18th century. In addition, it boasts the famous Polyptych of Bologna painting of tempera and gilded wood. Notable artists here include Raphael, Titian, Giotto and the Caraccis.

1 km
from city center 16 out of 26
Things To Do in Bologna

The Palazzo Poggi is a palace housing different scientific museum chambers in Bologna. The museum of ships and ancient geographical maps includes naval models and geographical maps from the 17th and 18th centuries, brought from the Institute of Sciences. The military architecture museum is dedicated to military equipment and fortification designs. Wax models and surgical equipment are displayed in a chamber dedicated to human anatomy and obstetrics. The natural history museum, physics museum, and specola museum are also part of the museum complex.

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from city center 17 out of 26
Things To Do in Bologna

The Archiginnasio is a grand palace inside the University of Bologna which also houses the fascinating Anatomical Theatre. The upper floors of the palace contain two classrooms closed to the public, and the Artisti and the Stabat Mater Hall, which are worth visiting. The famous Anatomical Theatre is fabricated entirely of spruce wood. It flaunts the remarkable “Spellati” (Skinned Men), anatomical models with exposed muscles.

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from city center 18 out of 26
Things To Do in Bologna

The Casa di Lucio Dalla was the house of the famous Bolognese singer-songwriter Lucio Dalla located near Piazza Maggiore in Bologna. The tour is a delightful, sensory walk through the various artefacts of the musician. Not just personal items, he also collected many splendid 18th-century Neapolitan nativity scenes and other artworks.

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from city center 19 out of 26
Things To Do in Bologna

The Church of Santa Maria Della Vita is situated in Quadrilatero, the heart of Bologna. This baroque church flaunts the famous Compianto del Cristo Morto (Lamentation over the Dead Christ) sculpture by Niccolò dell'Arca. In Oratorio dei Battuta, you will see another fantastic terracotta scuplture by Alfonso Lombardi—Il Transito della Vergine (Death of the Virgin). The oratory is embellished with intricate frescoes.

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from city center 20 out of 26
Things To Do in Bologna

The Neptune Fountain, also known as Il Gigante, given that it’s gigantic, is situated at the centre of Bologna. A bronze statue of the Roman God Neptune exuding masculinity and godliness stands imposingly in the middle with a trident in hand. Surrounding him are four putti representing the Ganges, the Nile, the Amazon and the Danube rivers. Finally, at the base are four nymphs with water ejecting from their breasts.

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from city center 21 out of 26
Things To Do in Bologna

The Asinelli Tower is part of the two-tower complex—Le Due Torri—and is the only one accessible of the two; the other tower is the Garisenda Tower. These towers are the most iconic monuments in this city and serve as an unofficial logo of Bologna. The tower is humongous, has a height of 97.2m, and leans at a slope of 1.3 degrees. It takes 498 steps to reach the top, but the reward is worth it. The view from here is simply stunning.

12 km
from city center 22 out of 26
Things To Do in Bologna

The Gelato Museum Carpigiani in Anzola dell’Emilia is a one-of-a-kind museum dedicated to the history and making of gelato. A tour takes you through the evolution of gelato over the years. You can try artisanal gelato machines and explore how gelato-making technology has advanced. You can even get a hands-on experience and make your sorbet and gelato.

1 km
from city center 23 out of 26
Things To Do in Bologna

The International Museum and Library of Music sit inside the magnificent Palazzo Sanguinetti in Bologna. The palace's first floor has nine rooms dedicated to six centuries of European musical works. It proclaims more than 80 musical instruments from Medieval and post-Medieval periods. In addition, the museum houses sundry musical documents like incunabula, precious manuscripts, opera librettos, etc., from the 16th to the 18th centuries.

3 km
from city center 24 out of 26
Things To Do in Bologna

The Certosa di Bologna is a large cemetery museum spread across 30 hectares of land in Bologna. Here lie the graves of some prominent Italian and Bolognese persons like Lucio Dalla, a famous musician, founders of Maserati and Ducati, Giorgio Morandi, a talented painter, and others. Frescoes, paintings and sculptures provide company to the dead. A prodigious Elisabetta Sirani is one of the most extraordinary works here.

6 km
from city center 25 out of 26
Things To Do in Bologna

FICO Eataly World is a food centre and theme park for food lovers in Bologna. There are 45 small restaurants here. Dal campo alla forchetta is their motto, which means—from field to fork; there is a space apportioned to grow vegetables, cereals and herbs, fruits, olives, and truffles, as well as for stables to rear farm animals for meat and dairy. Factories have also been set up to make sauces, dough, ground flour, etc., so the entire food-making process takes place here.

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from city center 26 out of 26
Things To Do in Bologna

MAMbo - Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna is a museum of modern and contemporary art in Bologna. It features art created after the end of WWⅡ and is frequently updated by the art of the present times. Homage to the Hollywood Squares (featuring Bridget Riley), a tapestry by Francesco Vezzoli, is one of the well-known artworks here. Some noteworthy artists include Marina Abramovic e Ulay, Gina Pane, Hermann Nitsch, Gianni Colombo, Luigi Ontani, Enrico Castellani, Giovanni Korompay and Antoni Tàpies.